THE BHAJA GOVINDAM OF SANKARA

HUMBLE OFFERING TO GOVINDA, THE PROTECTOR OF ALL

CONTRIBUTED BY

BY

S.S.NARAYANAN
INTRODUCTION BY
 
C.L.RAMAKRISHNAN
 

     The word "Bhaja" ( -j ), like its related word "Bhakti" ( -i­ ), is derived from the Sanskrit root "Bhaj-Sevayam", ( -j! sevayam! ), meaning "in the service of".  The word "Seva" ( seva) means service and refers to the service of the Lord, and this service could take many forms such as devotees may have witnessed at Tirumala. Indeed the Bhagavata
(Skanda 7 - Adhyay 55 - Slokas 24-25) speak of eight forms  :

ïv[< kItRn< iv:[ae> Smr[< padsevnm!      ,
ACcRn< vNdn< daSy< sOymaTm invednm!    .
#it puA<saripta iv:[ae> -i­íeÚv l][m!.
 
    The word "Govindam",on of the names of the Lord, literally means One who
protects the cow (or also the earth). An ignorant person islikened to a cow as one
that lacks the power of reason or the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong.

    This work,the Bhaja Govindam is alsoknown as the "Moha Mudgara" (maeh muÌr< )
which means a pestle that pulverises ignorance, for when ignorance is destroyed,
knowledge will become self-evident.

    The title suggests dedication of the work by Sankara to his Guru Goudapada, but this is as much a dedication to the Lord Govinda, because in ancient Indian tradition, the Guru was no less than the Lord Himself in human form, a view embodied in the popular sloka:

guérœäü guéivR:[u> guédeRvae mheñr>    ,
guéSsa]at! präü tSmE ïI gurve nm>  .

    Sankara has addressed his many works to every type of seeker, ranging from the
novice to the scholar. Bhaja Govindam has a simplicity that seems addressed to the
novice, yet it carries meaning that is profound. Each one of it's 31 verses points to the unreality of the many temptations of this transitory existence and ends with the recurring refrain urging us to seek Govinda as the ultimate Reality.
                                                                                                                                                

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